


The Needs of the Few

by ceria



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 07:25:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5657692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceria/pseuds/ceria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bartering and gifts</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Outweigh

Hannibal scoffs at the idea the first time Will mentions it. "Do you think so highly of yourself that I would barter all of them for just you?"

Will only smiles and retorts, "Do you?"

The distance between them while they heal and plan is measurable in light years, to pin it with a phrase Will has used before for them. Hannibal's distaste of it is subtle but present. He wants to see the Will who consumed the Dragon by his side but Will does not allow that. Not yet.

Will is kind enough to broach the subject first a week later. "Show me," Hannibal replies. He trades private embraces for Wally's life because children should always be put first. He sees the wonder in Hannibal's eyes each and every time Will never denies him a hug.

Sleep in two beds in separate rooms is given up for Molly because spouses are meant to show vulnerability. A companion to help guard against the terror of dreaming. The first two weeks, Hannibal hardly sleeps. Will assumes it's partially because he's afraid to show such defenselessness and partially from wonder; he cannot help but watch Will sleep beside him.

By the time they heal and rejoin society, Will offers another trade -- Alana's son for unlimited public touching. Hannibal is a private man and would never act unbecomingly. That said, he revels with the freedom to place a hand on the small of Will's back, to lean against his shoulder, to stand close enough behind him for their suits to brush together. To claim him before the eyes of every man and woman who see them.

Will never flinches from those touches.

Margot's life is traded for kisses. Hannibal wants _all_ of him and Will gives him all that he can. He is unsure of the sexual element and just how much he can provide. Hannibal's feelings for Will are different than Will's feelings for Hannibal and he is clever enough to know this means a slow introduction. Their first kiss is in their kitchen. Hannibal prepared dinner, as always and without Will's presence. Afterwards, Will helped clean up behind them. Hannibal thanks him silently with a kiss to the cheek.

He greets Will the following morning with a brush of lips against his knuckles. When they come back together at night after a day's separation, Hannibal welcomes him with a kiss on the palm of Will's hand. Will returns that welcome with a hug.

"Do you want me in the kitchen?" Will asks. Their lives are so entwined now but dinner preparation is something that never concerned Will. He eats what Hannibal cooks him, appreciates the aesthetic beauty of the table and plate, and compliments him on the food each time.

"Do you want that?" Hannibal asks and Will shakes his head no. Will has learned his boundaries and while many of them change as they live together, he still doesn't share all of Hannibal's appetite. 

Only Alana is left – Will trades her life for touch. "Do I not already have that privilege?" Hannibal asks. Will only smiles and shakes his head no.

 

They spend much time reading together. Hannibal often reads to him, enjoying Will's interruptions and their consequent discussion of the book. Tonight is no different except that Will tucks his bare feet beneath Hannibal's thigh. 

The following night, he rotates his body and rests his head on Hannibal's thigh. The next time Will reads, he splays his legs on the sofa and lets Hannibal rest between them, eyes closed, listening to the cadence of Will's voice as he falls asleep.

The first time in public that Will wants Hannibal's attention, he takes his hand, threading their fingers together. The shock rippling across Hannibal's face is momentary. The desire in his eyes banked even faster but Will knows that Alana is safe.

Will has given Hannibal everything he can in trade and gifts. "I have no other lives to bargain for," Will admits. "Can you accept what we have now?" Will might have sold his soul to the devil but his body is his own. Hannibal hears what Will truly means, that any other life beyond those five are not Will's to protect. 

Hannibal replies, tipping Will's face back to kiss him softly on the lips.

"Yes."


	2. The Needs of the One

Will hunts with Hannibal ever since they healed. He accepted that change with himself the moment before he pulled them over the cliff. The Dragon transformed both of them – home, for both of them, is the circumference of the man next to him. 

The hunt is not used as a trade for anyone's life because this _is_ Will's life now. He's finally chosen Hannibal. The death of the Dragon is their transformation from two into one. An intimacy far greater than anything sexual. It is Will's acceptance of their new life. It is also a gift that Hannibal doesn't fully trust because it is not wrathful. He utterly consumes what he desires. He comprehends manipulation. He doesn't understand the freedom of choice. But Hannibal does appreciate it.

It's a random night that hasn't involved hunting, because Will believes _that_ intimacy is different than this one, when he changes his evening routine. He's always slept fully covered, wearing the soft, silk pajamas provided by Hannibal. He showers that night, an act he normally considers wasteful considering how he sleeps. Hannibal notices the deviance in their practice. Of course he does, but other than a raised eyebrow, he does not comment. Will dries himself in the bathroom, the door open, out of Hannibal's line of sight. Even so, Hannibal always enjoys listening to Will prepare for bed.

It is fear that makes Will hesitate at the threshold between bath and bed room. But embracing fear is what Will has learned to do.

They might share a bed but he rarely touches Hannibal without the armor of clothing between them. When he comes out of the bathroom wearing only underwear, Will watches as Hannibal glances at him and smirks when Hannibal cannot hide his double-take.

After Will climbs into bed Hannibal asks, "Is tonight our last night on earth?"

"No," Will replies, and closes his eyes to sleep.

He wakes in the morning to the feel of Hannibal's breath swaying his hair. They're close together, he can tell by the way the bed dips toward the center. When he sits up, he glances down the length of Hannibal, who had mirrored Will's pose in the night, barely an inch away, to sleep.

It takes five nights before Hannibal finally asks, "What are you offering this in trade for?"

Will only smiles. "If you have to ask then you're not ready to know the answer."

He wakes with Hannibal's arm across his chest, hand splayed over Will's heart. Will remains there until Hannibal wakes. "Maybe tonight you can sleep without a shirt?" he asks.

"Maybe," Hannibal replies.

He watches Will all the time now, unable to reason what it is that Will wants in return. He's already guaranteed the safety of the ones he needs Hannibal to leave in peace.

That night Will squints and shudders as he climbs into their bed. "Is the light bothering you?" Hannibal asks and when Will nods, he sets his book on the nightstand, takes off his shirt, and turns out the light.

Once Hannibal is on his back, Will rolls over, pushing himself up onto one elbow. "May I borrow your fingers?" he whispers. He hovers over Hannibal's torso as Hannibal massages his temples. Once the headache breaks, Will sighs and lowers himself onto Hannibal's chest. He can hear the rapid beat of Hannibal's compassion and the confusion of Will's intent in the silences between beats.

"Is tonight…"

"No," Will replies, and curls into Hannibal's body to sleep.

"Is this a gift?" Hannibal asks the following morning.

"Yes," Will admits, still waiting.

"Why?" the question had been hovering for days around Hannibal's lips as he tried to reason it out himself before giving in and asking. He hasn't learned this lesson yet though Will's been steadily teaching it to him.

Will smiles and lifts a hand to trace Hannibal's furrowed brow, smoothing the skin. "Because you find joy in receiving this, so I find joy in giving it."

"Will Graham," Hannibal whispers, "are you in love with me?"

They will hunt together tonight, and for the foreseeable future. The people Will needs to keep safe will always be safe, and Will has given over all of himself to this change. He has more gifts to give in the future, and more gifts to receive but right now, he wants to explore a little more of this new intimacy.

"Yes."

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I bastardized that quote for this story. I'm new to the fandom and this isn't beta-read. Nor have I read much fic yet, I assume this is a popular starting point. Concrit is always welcome.


End file.
